Country star, Maren Morris had one of the biggest pop hits of last year when she teamed-up with dance music producers, Zedd and Grey on "The Middle". This worldwide smash single received three Grammy nominations including Record of the Year. Many were curious if she would pull a "Taylor Swift" and abandon his country music success for the universal appeal of pop for her next album. We now have some idea as Morris has just dropped a new single called "Girl". While she sticks to her roots on this uplifting ballad in support of womanhood, the guitar-driven song will still be appealing to her newfound fans. No exact date has been set for the release of the follow-up album to her 2016 debut, "Hero" but Morris is preparing to hit the road for the Girl World Tour which will begin in March.
Ariana Grande may have another hit on hands with "7 Rings" but this time it's mired in a little controversy. Not one but two different artists have accused the singer of ripping off their music with 2 Chainz and New York rapper, Princess Nokia rumbling with accusations of "7 Rings" sounding too much like their songs. Ever since the ridiculous court ruling against Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams over their "Blurred Lines" sounding too much like Marvin Gaye's 1977 song, "Got To Give It Up", it seems like even more artists are claiming their work is being stolen by other musicians. Now let's just keep it real; there isn't anything truly "original" anymore. You can find an influence of someone else's previous work in all of the arts. It's just that some of the "inspiration" is more obvious in some cases than with others. Here is the music video for Grande's tune and then you can listen to 2 Chainz's 2011 song, "Spend It" which he claims was used for her song. While there is certainly a similarity between the hook of the two songs, you be the judge:
And here is a fun take-off of "7 Rings" featuring Nyle DiMarco, the deaf male model who first found fame after winning on the reality competition show, "America's Top Model" and later the champ on "Dancing With The Stars" in 2016. The clip, directed by Jake Wilson, has DiMarco recreating Grande's video while signing the lyrics.
